Where did the month of June go?
Suddenly we find ourselves in the thick of summer, complete with a heat wave, downpours, and a heaping helping of new books to enjoy! This month’s list is sure to provide the thrills that you need to keep you hooked from start to finish.
From our entire team, we hope you’re enjoying the official start of summer. Stay cool and keep reading!
I Want to Burn This Place Down
By Maris Kreizman
Ecco
I Want to Burn This Place Down is a remarkable collection of exhaustion, both with oneself and an American political and economic system that continues to underdeliver on its grand promises. Reflecting upon her beliefs on how to achieve upward mobility—going to a good school, getting a good job, and more—and the hollowness of that “safe” and “comfortable” life, Maris Kreizman begins to expertly dissect the liberal myths she was raised on and lays the foundation for a braver, more radical future. Everything readers love from Kreizman’s work for Literary Hub is amplified in this collection. I Want to Burn This Place Down is full of direct, genuine, and often hilarious insights on tearing down the false promises of liberalism and rebuilding for the better.
American Mythology
By Giano Cromley
Doubleday
Meet Jute and Vergil—lifelong friends and proud members of the Basic Bigfoot Society, an organization dedicated to finding proof of the mythical creature’s existence. When Bigfoot “expert” Dr. Marcus Bernard invites them to join on his next expedition, they uncover a string of strange events that makes them question whether or not they are close to one of the biggest anthropological discoveries ever. Thrilling, nerve wracking, and at its heart incredibly love, American Mythology is an exciting debut from start to finish.
Angel Down
By Daniel Kraus
Atria Books
When Private Cyril Bagger is tasked with his most perilous and tragic missions during his time during World War II—venturing into No Man’s Land to euthanize a wounded comrade—he discovers that the person he is seeking is not a man but a fallen angel. Putting into conflict the holiness of this celestial being with the greed and jealousy of humanity, this captivating war thriller will entertain at every turn.
One Yellow Eye
By Leigh Radford
Gallery Books
One Yellow Eye is a zombie apocalypse thriller with a fascinating twist: A brilliant scientist named Kesta desperately searches for a cure while also hiding her undead husband from the government. Straddling the line between love and obsession, Kesta tests the boundaries of science and the law to save her family. Leigh Radford has crafted a book that offers both chills and heartbreaking moments.
Until Alison
By Kate Russo
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
When Rachel Nardelli discovers that her childhood rival Alison Petrucci has been found dead in Pleasant Pond in her hometown, she struggles with the complicated realization that she saw Alison the night she died…and worse, she said something she shouldn’t have. Plagued by grief and guilt, she joins a journalism crew to investigate the murder. Kate Russo’s latest is a well-crafted mystery that also explores the interplay between class, gender, and violence.
Blowfish
By Kyung-Ran Jo
Translated by Chi-Young Kim
Astra House
Postmodernism is alive and well in Kyung-Ran Jo’s latest! This intricately crafted novel centers on a successful sculptor who decides to commit suicide by artfully preparing and deliberately eating a lethal dish of blowfish. Blowfish is a book to chew on and savor, a deft delve into the intricacies of love and art.
Pan
By Michael Clune
Penguin Press
At fifteen, Nicholas forgets how to breathe and later realizes that his hands are objects. While his doctor believes it to just be a panic attack, Nicholas begins to suspect that the truth is that the Greek god Pan is trapped inside his body. From Guggenheim fellow Michael Clune comes a hilarious and astute coming-of-age novel about the modern age of anxiety and its effects on our next generation.
Their End Is Our Beginning: Cops, Capitalism, and Abolition
By brian bean
Illustrated by Charlie Aleck
Haymarket Books
Where does modern policing come from and what is its actual purpose? In Their End is Our Beginning, brian bean traces the roots of policing and global capitalism through colonialism, enslavement, and class oppression, and imagines a world in which these systems are torn down. Their End is Our Beginning is a powerful appeal for solidarity in the face of oppression and revolution in practice.
Bonding
By Mariel Franklin
FSG Originals
Bonding follows Mary, a young woman struggling through an endless cycle of casual relationships and job loss. When she escapes to Ibiza following yet another bout of unemployment, she meets chemist Tom who offers her a new drug designed to cure the anxieties of modern life. But as she falls for Tom and the relief he can offer, she must confront whether love and success is worth it in a world that’s falling apart. Bonding is a rare combination of searing satire and cultural elegy, delivered by an exciting debut novelist.
The Tilting House
By Ivonne Lamazares
Counterpoint
In the summer of 1993, Yuri—a teenage orphan living with her strictly religious aunt Ruth in a Havana suburb—meets a thirty-four-year-old artist from the United States who claims to be her sister. Yuri is utterly compelled by Mariela’s mystique, but when Ruth is jailed for unknown charges, she falls further into her supposed sister’s mercurial orbit. Filled with the complexity of history and the immigrant experience, The Tilting House is a globetrotting drama that explores the limits of family loyalty.
My Clavicle And Other Massive Misalignments
By Marta Sanz
Translated by Katie King
Unnamed Press
On an international flight to a conference, Marta Sanz notices a tiny bump beneath her skin just below her clavicle, near her breast bone. From here, Marta Sanz’s latest becomes a satirical and philosophical detective story. My Clavicle and Other Massive Misalignments is understandably difficult to categorize; its insights are both wide and deep, reflecting upon the body, the function of poetry, late stage capitalism, the perversions of the public health system. It’s a true feat of the written word crafted by an immensely talented author.
Hot Girls with Balls
By Benedict Nguyen
Catapult
In this laugh-out-loud funny novel, two young women named Six and Green decide to go where no Asian American trans women have gone before: the men’s pro indoor volleyball league. Benedict Nguyen’s debut offers the perfect book for readers who like their satire with extra bite: Hot Girls with Balls is sexy, romantic, and incredibly smart.
